1. Field of the Invention
This invention pertains to an equipment carrier for electric installation equipment wherein the equipment carrier can be coupled with a mounting support therefor.
In general practice, one-piece or unitary equipment carriers are utilized for the reception of differing electric equipment. Such equipment, may, for example, take the form of starter combinations for electric motors, line safety switches or circuit breakers and error control or volt clearing switches or the like. Such unitary equipment carriers have defined dimensions, so that, according to the space required, for a connection with specific installation equipment, equipment carriers of different dimensions must be stocked or kept in inventory. This is the case not only for the aspect of the dimensions but also in terms of the aspect of the form or shape of the equipment carrier in the region of its connection with the mounting support, which can be shaped in different types and styles, for example, in the type of the bus bar system upon which the equipment carrier can be attached or in the type of a wall or partition on which the equipment carrier can be fastened.
2. Discussion of the Background of the Invention and Material Information
For example, prior art Germany Patent Publication, DE 2646123 C2 discloses an equipment carrier for electric installation equipment wherein the connection between the electric installation equipment and the equipment carrier is achieved via an assembly rail upon which the foot or base of the installation equipment can be attached. It is a disadvantage of this known equipment carrier, that due to its one piece construction, no extensive preassembly of the electric installation equipment is possible.
It is the primary purpose or object of this invention to produce an equipment carrier of electric installation equipment that is universally usable and especially suited for modular construction which enables extensive preassembly of the electronic installation equipment with the equipment carrier.
This task or object is achieved with an equipment carrier or electric installation equipment which can be connected with a mounting support for the equipment carrier so that the mounting carrier includes an adapter lower portion that can be coupled with the mounting support and includes an adapter upper portion which serves for the reception of at least one installation equipment, whereby the adapter lower portion and the adapter upper portion are developed as separate components; can be coupled together; and an adapter lower portion of a defined size can be coupled with adapter upper portions of different sizes.
A particular feature of this invention resides in the fact that the adapter lower portion and the adapter upper portion of the equipment carrier are developed as separate construction components which only require that the adapter upper portion be shaped with regard to the requirements of the installation equipment, whereas the adapter lower portion can be shaped with regard to the requirements that are mandatory for the mounting support. Thus, it is basically feasible that, independent of the structural site or the attachment area, that are required by the installation equipment for attachment to the equipment carrier, only one defined size of the adapter lower portion is utilized, relative to which the respective adapter upper portion is tuned or mated. Herein resides an additional specific element of this invention, namely the feature that adapter upper portions of different construction sizes can be coupled or connected with one adapter lower portion of a defined construction size. If extensive area is required for the attachment of the electrical installation equipment on the adapter upper portion, an adapter upper portion with a correspondingly large dimension is utilized which is connected with an adapter lower portion of a standard size. If the electric installation equipment requires only a small area, an adapter upper portion of small dimensions is utilized, which likewise is connected with an adapter lower portion of standard size. It is useful to adjust the dimensions of the adapter lower portion in the area of its reception with the adapter upper portion to the smallest construction size of the adapter upper portion.
In view of a described shape of the equipment carrier it is suitable both for modular construction as well as for extensive preassembly of the electric installation equipment.
The installation equipment can, of course, corresponding with the area required, be connected with an adapter upper portion of a corresponding construction size, and corresponding to the shape of the mounting support, for the equipment carrier, the corresponding adapter lower portions is chosen for connection with the adapter upper portion.
The goal or object of this invention is to utilize the smallest number of different components of the equipment carrier for its different usages, with the result that, lower production cost for the plastic components, lower storage cost, etc., are achieved in that the adapter upper portions of different construction sizes are identically shaped in the connecting area with the adapter lower portion. The preferred further embodiment particularly pertains to this relation in that the adapter upper portion and the adapter lower portion, in their assembled or coupled position, can be snapped or latched together. This construction permits, in the simplest manner, a permanent connection of the adapter upper and lower portions, and, in addition also permits a subsequent disassembly.
An actual configuration of the equipment, in this connection, includes that the connection of the adapter upper and lower portions, via the plugging together of the adapter upper and lower portions as well as the subsequently following relative motion in the separation plane between the adapter upper and lower portions, whereby the adapter upper portion includes holding tabs which, during the relative motion of the parts, slide behind retaining webs in the adapter lower portion. Naturally, the possibility exists that the holding tabs could be located in the adapter lower portion and the retaining webs be located in the adapter upper portion. The latching of the adapting upper and lower portions occurs appropriately via at least one latching tongue which, in a latching position, slides or locates behind a latch web in the adapter lower portion.
A particularly simple and useful configuration, particularly for modular construction, of the equipment carrier in the attachment area relative to the installation equipment occurs when the adapter upper portion has two parallel webs, having rows of holes that extend in the longitudinal direction adjacent to the longitudinal edges of the adapter upper portion, whereby individual ones of the rows of holes serve for the reception for securing elements for the indirect or direct securing of the associated electric installation equipment at the adapter upper portion. Screws preferably serve as the securing elements via which the respective installation is either directly connected with the adapter upper portion in the area of both of the row of holes or an assembly row is connected via the retaining elements, which in turns serves for the attachment of the installation equipment.
Since it is the primary objective of the adapter upper portion to serve as a bearing or location for the installation equipment, the preferred configuration thereof is that it is plate-shaped. Due to the rather simple configuration of this component it can be produced at low cost and has but a small storage space requirement.
The invention includes two basic embodiments for use as the adapter lower portion which result in the given type of attachment of the equipment carrier to the mounting support.
Thus, it is feasible to combine a type of parting or wall with a moving support, specifically such as a wall of a case or a cabinet for the reception of installation equipment. In this case the adapter lower portion is appropriately plate-shaped and includes cutouts for suspending the adapter lower portion via retainer means connected with the wall. With reference to a different variation, the adapter lower portion is connected with a mounting support of the type of a bus bar system. In this case, the adapter lower portion is functionally boxed-shaped and includes, on the side removed from the adapter upper portion, hook projections that grip or locate behind the bus bars. The box shaped configuration of the adapter lower portion is, in this connection, therefore functional, since then, in the adapter lower portion, at least the means for the affixing of the equipment carrier are provided in the plane of the bus bar perpendicular to the longitudinal extent thereof, together with electrical contacts for the bus bars that can be connected via electrical lines with the installation equipment. Particularly, via the use of the equipment carrier in combination with the bus bar system, it is deemed necessary, at least in the area of the respective front fact of the equipment carrier, tangible at the adapter lower portion, to utilize a boundary safety plate which makes it impossible to touch the bus bars from this side.
The supply of electrical current to the respective installation equipment can be accomplished in different ways. During the use of the equipment carrier in combination with a bus bar system, the electrical current connection with the respective installation equipment is preferably accomplished via an electrical cable which, on one side, is directly electrically connected with the installation equipment, but on the other hand is electrically connected via contact springs or like with the associated bus bar, whereby the contact springs are journalled in the adapter lower portion and supported by the associated bus bar. The respective electrical cable can then exit from the side of the equipment carrier. Basically, and this is particularly so when no bus bar system is being utilized, the supply of electrical power to the respective installation equipment can be accomplished by means of the required electrical lines.
According to a special embodiment of this invention, the adapter upper portion of an equipment carrier can be connected with an additional adapter upper portion, not associated with this equipment carrier, the additional adapter upper portion serving for the reception of at least one installation equipment. It is envisioned hereby to accomplish not only a connection of an adapter upper portion with an adapter lower portion for the formation of an equipment carrier, but also to permit the connection of two, or if necessary even several adapter upper portions directly together, so that the connecting area for the installation equipment can be increased at will. In this connection it can basically be considered that the additional adapter upper portion will be connected with a different adapter lower portion, with the consequence that two adjacently arranged equipment carriers are attached together by means of the adjoining adapter upper portions of the equipment carrier. It is also feasible to arrange two equipment carriers at a distance or at a spacing from each other, and by means of an adapter upper portion, arranged between the adapter upper portions of these equipment carriers and not having an associated adapter lower portion, to form a bridge or connection between the two equipment carriers. Naturally, this bridge between the equipment carriers can also be formed of several adapter upper portions. The last mentioned variation is particularly useful when the equipment carrier is utilized together with an electrical bus bar system.
The fastening between the adapter upper portions is practically accomplished in the facing areas of the adapter upper portions by means of connecting elements. The respective connecting element, for the connection of the adjacent adapter upper portions is preferably snap or latchable by means of a clip-type connection. The adapter upper portions, in their areas of interconnection, should include sufficiently large interacting abutting areas so that, upon the affixing of the connecting elements, the adapter upper portions act as a rigid unit.
A tangible configuration of the connection in this interrelationship includes that the respective aperture web of the adapter upper portion and the additional adapter upper portion that is to be connected therewith is provided, on the respective side facing the adapter upper portion with at least one undercut projection extending in the longitudinal direction of the aperture web, whereby the projections of the adapter upper portion that are to be connected relative to their line of separation, are arranged in a mirror-inverted position and that the connecting element associated with the two projections is provided with two webs that are insertable into the undercut regions. In this configuration there is the possibility of sliding the respective connecting element into the one adapter upper portion and to snap or latch together with the same and thereafter to slide the other adapter upper portion onto the connecting element until it snaps or latches in.
Additional features of this invention are set forth in the dependent claims, the description of the drawing figures and are illustrated in the drawings themselves, whereby it will be noted that all individual features and all combinations of individual features are deemed inventive.